Empathy and Apathy
by Enlightened Life
Summary: Empathy. That was her gift. It's one thing he loved about her, at least to the point his apathetic nature would allow. An evil plot is brewing, and both are thrown right in the middle. How will they find the answer to their quest, and themselves?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Enlightened Life does NOT own Kingdom Hearts.**

_I know... I know. "Omg, a new story, what about the rest?!" well... I'm having a bit of a block on them so I thought I'd introduce myself to first person writing._

_So. Much. Easier. _

_Also, this entire story (If I ever finish something -.-) will be dedicated to **White Simplicity**_, _for whom I have a personal and long lasting friendship for. _

_W.S, You better enjoy this Roxiri or I am going to scream my lungs out at you. XD_

_Everyone else, enjoy. I have been working on MHIY but it's a slow progress. Very slow. So... enjoy the Roxiri. :O  
_

* * *

_**Empathy and Apathy**_

**Chapter 1 **

**------------------------------------------------------**

**((( KAIRI POV )))**

Ocean air. It flowed down my small chest and entered my lungs; filling them with it's fragrance. My feet felt cool against the soft sand as it wasn't too hot, or too cold. The beach seemed endless. Looking all around me, I could make out a selection of shadowed frames moving swiftly around the edges of the small rocks and cliffs. At this point, I'd only just noticed it was night time as the moon was hovering elegantly over the wide brine ahead of me. The radiated streams of light seemed to shimmy over the water in a strange but dazzling dance, casting the islands in a beautiful shade of blue which seemed to ripple with the reflection. It seemed to draw me in so kneeling down softly at the tide, I pulled my head down and stared at myself in the flowing liquid. Yep. It was me. Same shiny red hair, azure eyes, petite face and features. It was me, Kairi. I sighed inwardly and pulled myself away from the water.

Despite knowing that it is most definitely me, I had no idea _where_ I was. Everything seemed so clear in the crystal-like light. As far as I could see, there were no other islands, at least not on this side. I felt myself tense slightly for a second, which was soon followed by a sound behind me. It sounded like someone (or something) was shifting the sand. I tightened my body in place even more, feeling terror creep over me as the sand continued to be moved by whatever lingered behind my back.

When it finally spoke, my fears were completely confirmed.

"Why are you here?" It was definitely a he, but his voice was very arcane. It was deep, but held a tint of anger somewhere inside it which at the same time sounded somewhat _civil_. I cursed in my mind as I subconsciously began to turn towards him, feeling the fear burn away with each step.

"Uh... well..." I stopped talking abruptly upon laying eyes on him. _What the-?_ He was shrouded in a long black cloak which ran right to his feet; barely touching the sand. I stared absorbingly at him, forgetting all my worries about being on a strange island with a complete stranger (talk about ironic!).

"Why. Are You. Here?" He asked impatiently, and hit a nerve. Asking again was one thing, but spacing out the words to try and imply something was on a whole other level. I glared at him fiercely before turning my back to him quickly.

"I don't know. You tell me." I said smugly, feeling his eyes boring holes through my head.

"I would, but you _brought_ me here. This isn't my dream." He said, irritably.

My mind scanned over his response for a second, making my eyes suddenly grow wide. "Excuse me? Did you say... dream?"

"Yes, dream. Like hell I'd dream about being stuck on a tropical island with some random girl," he whipped his words out egotistically, quietly adding, "especially one this crazy."

I raised an eyebrow but pretended not to hear his insult. "So, why can't I wake up?"

"Well, I'm obviously here for a reason. Like I said, you brought me here." He said the words slowly while pointing a finger at me. I couldn't see it, but I could hear the leather of his coat moving and twisting with itself (God, I hate leather...) and when I turned around, he was in fact doing just that.

"I didn't bring you here. Get out of my dream." I clenched my fists. This was turning into more of a nightmare.

He didn't reply, and somehow I imagined him grinning wildly under his hood. The thought irritated me. Suddenly a shock split through me as I noticed... an outline on him. It was a deep red color, almost like blood. I was mesmerized by it, feeling drawn to him. I quickly shook the thought off. This stranger was not about to enter _my _dream and mess with my head. Then I felt it. I lived my arm and examined it, hearing an amused grunt as I gasped. _Why?_ My arm, and the rest of my body was surrounded by a faint blue line which glittered slightly when I moved. I looked at the boy in disbelieve. I wanted to see his face. It didn't feel fair for him to be hidden through this entire event. My purpose seemed to wash over me as I started striding towards at him.

"What are you doing? You can't-" He stammered, pushing one leg backwards as I gained in on his location.

"I'm sorry, but I have to know." I sounded more scared then I actually felt.

I was within hugging distance of him. Not knowing why the idea of 'hugging him' came into my mind, I sighed hard again. My dreams were always so strange. He didn't move. I was so close I could feel his heart beating fast as my body pushed against his softly. I leaned my arms up to remove his hood. His heart got faster. My small arms reached the tip of the leather. I heard him breathing very hard as I pushed back the hood and-

"KAIRI!"

My body shot up instantly with a loud thud as my head made hard contact with the back wall through the gap in my. My hands instantly retreated to the hurt spot and I moaned in pain; not even my eyes were open yet. I gasped as something hard fall onto my lap and didn't even need to look to know what it was. Instead, I double-glared at the small blonde girl stood at the end of my bed. Her soft green eyes were fixated on me in an attempt to glare back. I mumbled something under my breathe and she opened her mouth to speak. This would be fun.

"Kairi-" She began in a soft voice. Like always.

"Karine."

"What are-"

"Attempting to sleep."

She moaned loudly.

"Why-"

"Because I'm not allowed to leave the castle much. Meaning, I'll get fat whether or not I bother to move." I grinned mischievously.

"Thats not-" She stopped herself this time, looking over her thoughts.

I chimed in quickly, "If it's not true, then lets go!" I was feeling ten times more awake then I did a few moments earlier. She blinked at me a few times, hoping that I didn't mean what she thought I did.

"You mean... to breakfast?"

I smiled. "Of course," Her grassy eyes met my azure ones, "Then to the exit of the castle and wherever from there!" Now grinning, I jumped from the bed and looked back at Karine. She was frowning quite vividly. "Smile."

"Kairi, my mother wouldn't-"

"_Aunt _Agatha can wait. It's not like she'd notice anyway." I put extra enthusiasm on the word 'aunt' seeing as Karine was my cousin and her mother was the wretched guardian who acted more like a captor and decided it would be better if I remained a hermit crab my entire life, or at least for the remainder of hers.

I twirled to look at her. She was staring at me as if the world was ending; a great look of fear in her eyes but then she smiled at the gaze broke. She placed a small white clip in her hair as her smile continued to brighten the room. Her hair was nice, I mean, I loved my auburn hair but hers was mid-neck, platinum blonde, and the messy bangs made it look stylish. Mine was just nicely colored. In that moment I came to a resolution and smiled just as widely at her. "If you don't go then that's fine as long as you don't tell."

I saw the deadly gaze return and pouted a little while I tried to pick out a dress. I was housebound because of my aunt, but being who I was and all, an endless supply of dresses and fancy clothing still filled my usual routine. Not that I liked my routine, but there were some better props apart from that.

"Okay."

In complete shock, I looked at her questioningly as if urging her to continue.

She sighed. "I'll... cover for you, but on one condition."

My eyes lit up. "You name it!"

Now it was her turn to smirk. "I want you to show me the _hall_ when you get back."

I shunned out any previous thoughts to make room for her words. The shock multiplied as what she was actually asking slowly sunk in. "I... I can't." I stuttered the words, sounding suddenly afraid. But why? It never scared me before.

"What? Kairi, why?" I looked at her face. It was suddenly full of concern and I felt guilty.

"We could both get in a lot of trouble..." I said slowly, not for her, but for me instead.

"I know, but I really want to see it." Feeling suddenly skeptical of her idea, my eyes mentally stared at her.

"That's not like you. Getting in trouble is the last thing on the planet that you'd ever want to do."

She smiled sheepishly. "I know, and you know me all too well too, but," she turned her gaze to the floor, refusing to meet mine, "Sometimes coming. Somethings going to happen soon, I can feel it. Can't you?"

Pondering for a moment, I rewound my mind back to the dream. My eyes shot wide but she didn't notice. I did feel it. It might as well have been shaking the ground but I decided to push her mind as ease. Even if only a little bit. "I don't feel anything, Karine. I think you should try not to think about it and see how that goes." She still didn't look up and I instantly felt dismal. She was being depressive, and that was very unusual.

"Okay!" I almost fell backwards when she finally shot back into her happy zone. Blinking a few times, I noticed she'd already left the room by the time I fully caught myself and she was shouting down the hall, "I'll see you at breakfast, and remember, be ready for _action!_"

I smiled at the now empty door before retreating back to my mountainside of clothings. I felt my mouth grew even wider when I came across a dark brown shawl with a hood.

"Perfect."

**-----------------------------------------ExL----------------------------------------**

"So, Kairi, how are your studies going?" My Aunt asked, keeping her beady eyes glued to my face.

"It's going... great." I couldn't think of a word to describe the studies, I'd have to research later for more words to define 'Completely boring me to death' and that is quite literal, in a sense.

"Oh? So you can tell me more about the Keyblade?" She asked slyly. I felt myself tense up. I didn't know much about Keyblades because there wasn't much to learn. Not in text and pictures anyway. I guess to truly understand them, you had to _wield_ one and of course, there hadn't been a wielder for almost 200 years. I sighed in defeat.

"No, Aunt Agatha. I can not tell you anything more about the Keyblade." I almost muttered the entire sentence but she seemed to catch what I said because her fake motherly smile turned upside down in a very frightening way.

"Well then, I suppose we'll have to confine you to the library all day until we," She spat her words at me like snakes out of a barrel, not to mention how much the word 'we' made me gag, "discover something new about that amazing weapon."

I was about to speak up with Karine cut me off, "Mother, what use do you have for the research, if I may ask?" Karine asked her sweetly, but didn't need to. Aunt Agatha was my Aunt, and her Mother, and the line between them is apparently very thick.

"Karine, dear, the research is for the good of the people. I wish to maintain the knowledge of how one chooses its wielder, and since there are no wielders in the world, there is no-one for me to experiment on." She smiled wide at the thought of locking some poor person up in the castle and prodding them with her dark magic until they crack. Sometimes I wonder if it really is the case of no Keyblades choosing, or all the wielders running away from her. I chuckled lightly causing the table suddenly silence.

"Mind sharing what's so hysterical, Kairi?" Aunt Agatha asked from my right, a glint in her eye told me that I had spread out of my boundaries. She always made me want to cry.

"No... no there isn't." I said slowly and stared at my untouched food. It was always too awkward to eat breakfast since it was the only meal she joined Karine and I for.

"Good. Then get going, you have a lot of overlooked Keyblade information to collect." She said while taking another sip of her sign.

_I'd like to throw that all over your nasty face!_

My thoughts nearly brought out a chuckle, but I settled quickly and hurried from the oversized table. The entire way out, I could feel her drilling holes in the back of my head so a headache soon took over.

"She's acting... strange." Aunt Agatha mused as I rounded the corner. I decided to ignore the comment a trek to my room faster.

As I entered my room, the first thing I saw was the picture on my bedside. It seemed to greet me like always as I headed towards it, wishing more and more that I could just jump into the picture rather then staying in the life I have. Running my fingers across the clear glass, happiness seemed to overwhelm me as the eyes of my parents and younger self stared directly into mine. We were all outside in the pictures. In the town, to be more exact. I hadn't been far from the castle much since my Fathers sister took over it and sadly, me. I smiled at the picture encased. _What a fond memory..._

"Dad, what... what should I do?" I asked the ceiling, feeling utterly stupid but hopeful at the same time. No answer came of course so I looked back at the picture.

"You seem to really love that picture..." I jumped as Karine came up behind me, smiling warmly.

"Well, it's all that I've got left from the _good times._" I spoke darkly, but she didn't seem to care.

"That's not true, don't you have that charm thing?" She looked like she was thinking very hard-- WAIT!

"Oh! How could I... forget..." I turned around and pulled out a small trinket from under the pillow. I grasped it tightly in my hand before having the face on the front look up at me.

_How could I have forgotten this?_

"I still can't believe you own a real Keychain, and it's not like you said the others were-" She stopped and looked at the door. I looked too and noticed the problem, "Shes really gone too far... guards at your door." Karine whispered hoarsely.

"Yeah..." I murmured, feeling suddenly not so confident in my plans for the day.

Karine then looked straight at me and leaned down so we were both hidden behind the bed. "Don't worry, I'll distract them." Sometimes, I think she can read my mind. My grasp on the charm tightened. "Wait, you're not- you're not taking it with you, are you?" She suddenly looked concerned and her hand was messing with her hair in a nervous manner.

I started to sheepishly explain. "Yes, I am. My Father would have wanted me to-"

"No!" She yelled, almost making the guards storm into the room. She waved a hand to them and they closed the door fully. "If you get caught with that, Princess or not, they will arrest you as a Key Bearer. Then my Mother will have even more pleasure testing you out and putting spells on you and... and... AND-"

"Karine!" I snapped the blonde out of her ramble. She blinked a few times before looking at the Keychain. "I'll be fine... and back before you know it."

"Mother doesn't even know you own this. I don't know how you kept it secret all these years."

"I'm good at hiding stuff, not hiding stuff." I said, gesturing to the big pile of clothes a metre or so away, "But... I did find this!"

She gasped loudly. "Great Mother of Light! Where- why do you even own that?" She placed her hands over her gasping mouth in shock and gapped at the cloak I held up.

"Like I said, I'm good at hiding stuff." I smirked and wrapped it around my body before pulling the hood over my head. I heard Karine giggle and looked down at her. "Does it look... bad?"

"You're wearing guy shoes?!" She choked the words out, almost doubling over in laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. It's better if I don't get seen as a girl because you know... people rape girls so I'm trying to look a little bit like a guy and they can't see my hair, face, or body so..." I looked at her as she scanned my body with a little bit of understanding though it was easy to tell that she was trying not to laugh, "... Shoes."

"At least I'm getting something worth while out of helping you be 'bad'." She smiled normally again. "A good laugh which will last a _long_ time."

I couldn't help but snort. "Don't bet on it."

I started towards the window but could feel Karine's staring embedding my skull. Without turning, I addressed her thoughts. "What is it, Karine? You thought I'd be using the front door?"

"No... but I never really thought of how you would be getting out. Try not to fall... Kairi."

I laughed mentally before turning to face her. She still hadn't moved any closer. "Can you help me hold the gardeners ladder in place?"

She flushed a little before scuttling over to me. I gestured to the ladder that was placed securely at the side of the balcony. Although it wouldn't be very secure once I got onto it. Slowly, I made my way down the series of wooden stairs, having the occasional shape now and then because of Karine's nerves. My room was about 3 stories up. Inside the castle, there was a large grand staircase but there was no way I could use that to leave. When I reached the bottom, Karine ran out through the main entrance to meet me around the back. She was allowed to leave to it was easier. We moved the ladder behind a collect of large bushes.

"Be safe, Kairi." Karine said sweetly. She was like the best friend I ever had, even if we were family.

"You too, Karine. If I get caught from inside the castle, I won't be mad. Thank you for helping me." I said from the top of the wall. She looked sad to see me go but lightened up a little at my comment.

"You're welcome, but I don't want to do it again," She grinned, "Now hurry up before somebody notices the 'scary cloaked figure on the wall'."

I nodded and jumped off the wall to head into the town. It felt amazing.

**-----------------------------------------ExL----------------------------------------**

The towns. Oh, how I longed to breathe that rotting stench in the air once again. I felt like an adrenaline rushed had just kicked into double drive as I scurried through the crowds of people, admiring the many sights and stalls along the way. I couldn't exactly remember what most of the people looked like from my younger days so it was a slightly unpleasant surprised to notice nearly all of them were in rags, or actual clothes which looked _very _unclean. I sighed a little. There were many sick people clinging to the sides of the streets. Majority of them looked very near death, and a few appeared to already arrived there. It wasn't an utterly pleasant sight but bearable none the less.

A few metres away from me, two men appeared to be assaulting a women. One of them was rather tall and thin with not many muscle was noticeable on him, his hair was quite short and brunette. The other was very fat. He appeared to be bald and his muscles had may have been more noticeable but I couldn't tell for sure. Both men wore dark brown linen shirts and they appeared to wear insignias. The women they were assailing drew my attention away from them with her screams of terror and pleads for help. I looked away in shame.

_Why do they live like this?_

Clutching my charm again, I glanced back around and shock instantly took over. Even though I was wearing a cloak and hiding my identity, the women was laying on unconsciously on the floor, almost completely naked, and both men were staring at me with an almost _excited_ look. I felt like my feet were tied to the ground. I couldn't move. They started towards me. I was terrified. They wanted to rape me. Did they not care about if I was a boy or girl? _Could they tell?! _They continued in my direction and the slim man licked his lips eagerly. _Oh my god!_ My mind was screaming for help but no words came out. It all seemed pointless after seeing every person on the street turn a blind eye to their last victim, including me (not that I could have done much to help). As my mind was yelping loudly, someone bashed my hard in the side as they ran past. My feet moved and I gasped. Without any further a due, I sped around the corner as fast as I could, wishing thanks to whoever knocked me out of my trance.

**((( ????? POV )))**

"Crap, crap, crap." I couldn't stop murmuring to myself as I dashed through the crowds full of people. Again. Only this time, I was getting chased. Again. Just my luck toward. I noticed my every-so-trusty partner in the clearing and glared.

"Axel! Where have you been?" I asked, obviously annoyed but he simply smirked at the people behind me.

"You never can do this right," He looked straight at me, "Roxas."

"Shut up Axel! I'll grab something awesome one of these days!" I reveled on the thought. Oh, how I would love to see Axel's face.

"Yeah, yeah," He shot a grin my way again and held up a thick piece of wood, "not if they catch you you won't." I smiled. A distraction was just what I needed to get the hell out of here.

"Thanks, Axel."

"Don't sweat about it, just make sure _you_ get dinner for tonight. I'm in the mood for something spicy! Got it memorized?!" Axel's personal quote or.. question at the end always made whatever he said sound like an absolute order. It scared me, but I knew Axel was someone to be scared of.

_Pyromaniac._

I jolted away down the street, still being able to hear Axel's middle-of-the-street pyro performance from where I was. I'm not sure what I could hear more of, the fiery explosions and burning, or the screaming fans. He got a new bunch each time since we moved around the town so much. Of course, my pursuers probably didn't stay to enjoy the show. They were probably trapped in the middle of a possible riot. Poor them. I couldn't tell if they were chasing me or not because I just kept running.

_Coming into the centre of town was always the hardest to bear. _I frowned at my thoughts and how true they were. These parts of the town were like the tree of bad news. Things happened here. Way worse things then a simple pick-pocket here and there, and whats worse is, people just ignore it. I found myself peering towards the castle and cussing at all the people who lived there. They had an easy live, everything they ever wanted, and so, so much more. Us peasants, have nothing close to that.

_I wonder if it's really my destiny to just pick pocket for the rest of my life..._ My frown still remained and I inwardly scowled at the amount of negative thoughts I was getting today. Turning the corner, I began my stretch towards the stairs... so... close... so... OW!

My back bashed to the floor and I winced in pain. I'd.. run into someone? That can't be it, I never make physical contact with the street people. Ever. It's how I pick-pocket without getting noticed so how the heck did I wind up on the-

"What the hell!" I heard a female voice yell out and I opened my eyes. A cloaked figure was lying a few feet away and I instantly felt guilty. _I knocked a girl over... damn, Axel better not here about this. _

"What are you staring at?" The mystery girl asked, still hidden under her hood.

"Uh... nothing." I stuttered. Damn, why was she so familiar?

"Mhmm, well I have to get going..." she was now fully on her feet and ready to charge away. I watched her closely, feeling slightly sad that she was leaving me... _What? Why am I thinking or feeling that?!_

I shook my head. This was already turning into a really bad day. The girl didn't seem to be in any rush because when I looked back at her, she was still in the same place except... something was wrong.

"I thought you were leaving." I said smugly while getting up. She turned towards me but I, frustratingly enough, could not see her face.

"I will be, as soon as I find what's mine." She said quickly, as if fear was all around her. A sound suddenly drew my eyes away from her. Peering around the tight corner I growled. Guards. I couldn't hear much of what they were saying. A few words: _'missing,' 'worried,' 'heir,' 'help,'_ and the last one seemed to ring around my head like stars did when I fell unconscious. "Kairi."

I noticed the girl behind me tense for a second before returning to her search. I studied her closely, and decided to take a chance. "Kairi?" She stopped and turned to me. I could feel my cheeks warm up. _Dammit! Why is she so familiar?!_

She looked at me quizzically for a few moments. It wasn't very hot out today but I was boiling. When she finally spoke, I felt the world stop.

"You never saw me here. Understand?" She asked kindly. _Maybe I was wrong to curse... NO. They do this, they make us live like this..._

Nonetheless, I nodded and she returned to looking for something. I turned around to give her space when I noticed a small star shaped object at the other side of the street. Figuring Kairi wouldn't care if I crossed over, I did. I scooped up the object in my time. It was something like a child's toy, Five points and a face in the center. It strangely enough even had a chain attached. I looked back at Kairi.

_This is probably hers... I shouldn't take... it... I should give it back as an... apology? Yeah, that'll work, an apology for knocking her over._

"Kairi-"

"ROXAS!"

I stopped dead in my tracks and stared around. Kairi suddenly seemed panicked as Axel raced around the corner. She was still looking in that direction when Axel made his way over to me so it must be something else. I felt her eyes pour on me, and then on my hand. The hand holding the charm.

"Thats... thats MINE!" She ran at me. Pretty damn fast too, but not fast enough. Axel charged in between me and her. He locked his arm around my wrist. I was being pulled down the street and began shouting apologies to Kairi because I still had her item. I look at her and it for a long hard time as we ran. Guards began surrounding her and grabbing her hand as she tried to run away from them. Our eyes locked from a wide distance, and I knew this wasn't the last time I'd see her.

* * *

_Ooookay. Drop reviews if you like._


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Enlightened Life does NOT own Kingdom Hearts.**

**_Busyness is such a b**** D:!!! I'm sorry for not updating recently, or responding to messages or anything... x_x *sadness*_**

**_But here is the update! :O Roxiri.. xD I would never write this if it wasn't going towards a good... person. _**

**_REVIEW REPLIES:_**

**E Muja EN: **YES! Roxas is such a little thief... :O Don't worry :P The story will hopefully become more clear.

**Emmy Black Rose: **xD I'm always far too lazy to reread what I write. Hoping you still alive to keep reading now. :]

**Unfortunate Events: **Heh, I'm not one for the pairing much either but it's... growing on me, maybe I can get you addicted. Thanks for the review! :D Oh, oh, and you do? ;O -really needs to keep track of messages-

_Now... ON WITH THE CHAPTER!_

* * *

_**Empathy and Apathy**_

**Chapter 2 **

**------------------------------------------------------**

**((( KAIRI POV )))**

"Kairi, I can seriously not believe that you got caught!" Karine was standing in the middle of my room, looking completely dumbfounded as to the fact that I had just been escorted back to the castle by three over sized guards. Still, it was partly her found. Karine is a terrible liar; she couldn't lie her way out reading a book, let alone me being absent from the grounds. I had to admit it though, looking at her facial expressions while she practically generated her own earthquake with how much she was shaking was very amusing. I giggled a little at her and she pouted.

"Kai, how did they _find_ you? The town has like five districts, all pushed off each other with huge diagonal walls. You were supposed to be keeping a low profile," she tried to sound calm but the fear was cracking at her voice with it's whip. Aunt Agatha would not take too well to the news, or to being within 500 yards of her when we had to see her. I sat on my bed in frustration. Too much was happening all at once. I had almost forgotten about my Keychain again, and how that stupid boy stole it.

"Karine, I'll be going into the town again very soon." Sounding way too calm for my own good, my hand moved to my hair to act 'nervous'. I looked up at her to see an look of pure and utter fright.

"No! She'll lock you in the dungeons! You're just the HEIR, Kairi. She can do whatever she wants with you until you have to become queen!" Her voice was so weak. It made me feel sad and more than a little scared but that chain and charm were the world to me. I had to get them back, no matter what the cost.

"Karine.. I have to." I pleaded with her.

"But why? You're so much safer in the castle and you have everything you need-"

"Not _everything._" She shot a glance towards my creamy colored pillow in understanding and then looked at me.

"Where is it now?"

"Some boy in the first district stole it," I smiled sheepishly when remembering how he lingered about while I was searching for it, "Him and a man with strange hair. It was red and wildly spiked, kind of like a porcupine." I looked at Karine and as if on cue she stifled a laugh.

"And the younger boy? I doubt he was too unacceptable for you to remember him." She said slyly, causing my cheeks to burn brightly.

"No! No- he... uh... had blond hair... it was like a um..." I described him as the first thing that popped into my head, "A chocobo..." and I instantly regretted it. Karine was obviously imagining him as she once again almost fell to floor in giggles.

"I.... can't... breathe!" She said between large intakes of royal air before finally calming down and staring at me. "You should draw him for me!"

"... What?" _Is she serious?_

"Kairi, come on... you used to love drawing!"

"That was a long time ago... back when _she_ was around." I said sadly.

"She taught you lots about drawing, I mean, you were best friends." Karine mused out loud, equaling my sadness.

"I miss her so much." I collapsed onto my bed and stared at the baby pink ceiling. "I wonder what she's doing right now... if she's safe or not. Happiness? Love? Friends? Does she remember me at all?!" Not noticing how my voice was rising I cut off quickly and stared at the door. "Sorry... maybe I should go for a walk..."

"I'll come."

I raised one thin brow at her. "You're acting... different recently. You're even talking to me a lot more."

She smiled sweetly and then suddenly became very timid. "I... want to be a little different. It feels good to rebel... sometimes." I could tell she was unsure by the awkward echo in her voice. She was the good girl who obeyed the rules, not the black sheep in a herd of white. She wanted to be different, which was something I was never able to comprehend properly. I liked how I was, but what I didn't like was the life I was living. Karine seemed to be my one and only friend _now_. Life is so unfair sometimes.

"Hey, Kairi?" Karine knocked me out of subspace gently, "I'm pretty sure that Namine misses you."

"What makes you think that?" I didn't need her to answer because I already knew it. I started towards the door, making sure to take quick glances at each picture. They were the happiest moments of my life. I stopped at one photo and focused in on it. It was taken about 2 years ago just outside the _Caverns of Twilight._ They were naturally sculptured just near the shore of the city but not many people were allowed out there. The area was off limits to most people, but the Royal Family was decreed access under the high court, especially after the rare discovery of my link or as they called it 'affinity' with the Keyblade and anything related. It's kind of funny actually, since they believe the caverns are also linked with that strange weapon. The entire ceiling is covered in a strange crystal which some people say reflects a shape somewhat like a splintered heart at night and rumor has it that one of the chains for a Keyblade bore that exact same shape. I didn't know what to make of it all... until that day. The day this photo was taken, and the day Namine was taken away from us.

"Because, you miss her." Karine said it so bluntly that I almost gave way at how much my eyes burned.

"_Namine... where are you?"_

**-----------------------------------------ExL----------------------------------------**

**((( ROXAS POV )))**

"So I met a Princess... stole from a Princess... angered a Princess... and could end up beheaded for...?" I motioned my hand in a slice over my neck and grinned at the somewhat furious pyromaniac a few feet away.

"Don't get cocky, Roxas. You're not exactly out of the woods yet." Axel's tone was monotone and he wouldn't even make eye contact. "In fact, I'd say you're stuck at that little cabin in the center where the wicked witch wants to put you in a Roxas-messed-up-so-much Soup." Now, it was his turn to grin.

I groaned at the many different punishments that came to mind at the mention of a 'wicked witch'. After all, we were pretty much ruled by one. "Okay, I guess I should return this..."

I got up to leave but Axel block aided my way. He held out a long twig lit brightly at the edges with a burning crimson flame. I eyed him irritably and continued to stride forwards, and towards his _bluff._ I soon regretted it when the flame began burning through my attire. I looked at Axel again, but he didn't seem at all interested in what I was doing. "Uh... can I get past?"

"Why would you need to go out at this time of night?" Axel asked in an unamused manor. I had never seen him this serious...

"To return this." I said sternly, gesturing to the strangely shaped object in my clenched fist.

"Oh? Here I thought you weren't all _that_ stupid, Roxas." He stood up and I gaped widely at him.

"Stupid? This wasn't supposed to be stolen, Axel. I accidentally stole it from that girl-"

"Princess." Axel corrected.

"Fine, Princess. It's all the same. Just because I want to return something doesn't make me stupid."

The redhead face palmed. Hard. "I never said it was your morals that made you stupid. What I meant was that you wanting to walk into the _palace_ with _that_," He looked at me properly not and sighed, "is stupid."

Finally beginning to get what he meant, my eyes grew much wider. "What exactly is this?"

"Even I can't tell you that, exactly. I still want my head, unlike a certain someone."

My head, speaking of which, now felt like it was on fire. "Okay! OKAY!" I vented loudly and Axel looked at me, utterly amused. "How do I find out?"

"Books."

"You're kidding me..."

"Not in the least, B-O-O-K-S. Got it memorized?"

I rolled my eyes at him and his so called intelligence before he continued.

"Hey, Roxas, maybe you can learn how to spell and finally be like me?"

I jumped slightly at the comment. "Why in the world would I want that?"

His grin grew much, much wider. "Because then you'd do something right."

"Okay, how do I get into the library? It's off limits to anyone below Noble statures..."

"Oh yeah, because everyone sneaks in that place at this time of night." Axel said sarcasitically. Did he really expect me to go during the day?

"Don't you think I'm in enough trouble without sneaking into a peasant-free-zone?" My voice sounded worse then I felt. "Can't you just tell me?"

"No!" Axel roared, making the hairs on my neck stand on end. I stared at him questionably, hoping for more then one word or some kind of explanation for his reaction but when none came I let out a heavy sigh and moved over to my bed. Lying down, I pictured the Princess again, and her face when I stole the object she would gladly search the grubby streets for. I moaned in guilt and rolled over with my back turned to Axel.

"Giving up already, Roxie?" I didn't even need to turn around to realize a smirk was splashed across his face.

A few moments passed without any reply from me. I pressed my face into the pillow to crush my next words. "P-pretty mu-ch." I laughed at the pronunciation a little before feeling Axel's movement shook me again. Then he surprised me by laughing.

"Alright. Since the libraries out of the plan why don't we just look in this?" I turned over to see what he was referring to and my eyes grew wide.

"You had that all along!?!" I quickly jumped off the bed to snatch the book from his grasp but my much taller room mate lifted his hand high enough for me not to reach. "Give it!" I silently gasped at how eager I was to learn about a simple object. Somebody _elses_ object at that. "Please..."

"One more step and I'll burn it!" I stopped as if he commanded it and slowly he_ anchored_ the prize.

Axel laughed slightly as his fingers slid under the decaying seal. "Shall we?"

**-----------------------------------------ExL----------------------------------------**

**((( KAIRI POV )))**

"Kairi! Please, don't!" I could hear Karine from atop the stairs. I didn't blame her for being worried, after all, I was not only sneaking out of the castle (again) but also taking a huge risk by the way I was going. I felt the ground beneath me squelch against my shoes. Gasping lightly, I looked closely at the water and remembered back to what the towns streets were like. This could only get worse. The tunnels seemed to get darker with each turn, and I could of sworn the water was getting deeper. The air was strangely dense; making my throat clog up every so often and forcing me to take in and exile deep breathes. I stopped for a moment, examining a fork in the route. Neither of the choices had light resonating from them so it was impossible to tell for sure. I sniffed the air a little, hoping for a whiff of something other then the turmoil in the water. Nothing out of the ordinary. I sighed loudly.

"Why should I even have to do this?" Backing up against the wall, I stared down at the dark water. Despite it being dark, my reflection was still vividly clear and I laughed slightly. I was a complete mess. My head leaned back up to face the rounded ceiling. In my mind, I had clearly decided that the towns were _worse_ then this, and still are. Frowning at the not-so-fond memory, my shoulder sagged a little and I began humming to myself. I felt my self stiffen all of a sudden as something scurrying across my foot. As I looked all, the last I saw was a moving lump in the water and a long pink tail. My voice couldn't contain itself and let out a loud, high-pitched bellow. It was stopped short when the sound of moving water caught my attention. Someone was coming.

"Well, isn't this convenient." An unfamiliar voice slurred through the tunnels, making me forget the rats instantly.

"W-who... whos there?" I placed a finger to my mouth in shock. Was I really that scared?

"Like I'd honestly, tell you," The figure emerged from the tunnels with a few followers before scanning me and sneering, "Your _Highness._"

I looked at her carefully. She was quite tall and clean, wearing a long black robe which dropped into the water. She didn't seem displeased by this though, as her small pixie type face was looking at me with a certain glint. I winced as she as suddenly hoisted my wrist against the wall with a sharp scrape. She used her free hand to push back her short blonde hair into it's usual spot and neaten up two strange looking locks which stuck out from the rest. I could feel her turquoise eyes boring into my back as she continued to stare me down.

"L-let... let me go!" My voice was extremely feeble and she must have noticed. The stranger rammed her knee into my back forcefully, puncturing a cry of pain from my lungs. My eyes were closed tight to try and fight any and all tears but it only became harder as I felt my face slowly dropping down the side of the bricks, taking a few pieces of my cheek with it. I couldn't stop the tears now, and soon the other strangers were laughing from the background. The profoundness of their laughter made way for me to assume they were males. My thoughts suddenly shot into fear and I desperately began barging backwards into the woman invading my personal space.

"Let go!" Courage seemed to overwhelm me now as I kept barraging into her thin frame.

"You stupid girl! How dare you?!" She was much stronger then me. I internally winced once more at the anger which filled her cry.

"Please... let me go!" I tried once more, feeling her feet kicking into my ankles, I intoned a yelp. My body was suddenly flipped over so my back was now facing the hard wall. As I looked straight forward, I could finally see the infuriation in her eyes. If it wasn't so dark, half of me would have been curious if they were red. The other half, however, was ready to give way any second and be ready to face an impending doom. I tried to look away from her to the other figures. They were all in the same attired but had they hoods shadowing their faces. The only things I could perceive through my now fuzzy auditory were slight murmurs.

"She- Princess? No... Rox- no..."

"Key? Hall- no, no... Heart-"

"Light- Heartless... takeover?"

"Of course- Heart- why? That can't- she- _Namine?_"

My heart would have stopped right there and then. I had heard that right, I know I had. "What? What do you know about Namine?!" My yell echoed loudly at the 3 strangers and they immediately stopped conversing. They all seemed to glare in my attention with a few seconds without replying before they all starting backing up in the way they came. "Please! No, wait! Tell me what do you know about Namine!?" I asked again, more desperately, but I didn't notice the weight that was forcing my hand against the wall disappear from my wrist.

"Please! I-" I stopped at the sound of a loud smack. The tears flowed freely, adding to the dirty water as they dripped down my red cheek. My free hand moved to it and I streamed my fingers over what I imagined was a large mark. It certainly felt that way. Finally looking back at my attacker, I noticed her looking at me in an amused manner before finally blurting into a hysterical laughter, wiping 'clean' the hand she had used to swipe me with. As if on cue, her group followed suit and began murmuring again. I stood there, now utterly terrifying. The tunnels were a bad idea after all. I decided to run.

"Where do you think you're going?" The pulse in my wrist jolted as it was gripped once more. As my body went half-limp, the surroundings went blurry and foggy. In that instant, I became _very_ scared.

"Please... I have to-... to..." I sounded as monotone as I felt, "to get... it... back..."

I could nearly hear the grin creep back across her face as she came to hit me again. "You, silly girl, will do as you're... told!" The air made a _whooshing_ noise as he hand came crashing down again but I suddenly felt a swelling of relief when she didn't make contact. My eyes grew even wider when I noticed another hand stretched out just above me, blocking the blonde's assault.

I felt so lost when he finally spoke. "Larxene! That's enough!"

"Enough?! These royals have destroyed everything about us! They deserve to be destroyed in the exact same way," I met her eyes for a second before looking away and hearing her add, "slow and painful."

"Even so, it's not in our nature, or _your's_ in particular to take it out on every royal you find, and better yet, in such an repulsive place." The man seemed to slur it words through an accent. It was quite opulent and gave off a hint of knowledge. I smiled a little, hoping he would be a lot nicer then 'Larxene' but she didn't seem phased by him when she began somehow sending small voltages into my body. Instantly, my frame began to shake rabidly, having no control over anything whatsoever. I looked back at her through my tear shredded vision. She was smiling widely. My hand fell free from her grasp and my body slammed into the wall. All my bones were aching as they twisted and turning with the rest of my being. My knees gave way and ground down the ridged surface, making a ripping noise as holes were made in my clothes and fresh blood seeped through. I screamed in pain as the cuts were made deeper and deeper, slicing new layers of skin with each second.

"Larxene! Stop!" The figure called out again, not to tend to me but to stop her doing whatever it was that was hurting me so compellingly. My entire existence bathed in joy when it finally stopped.

I heard Larxene mutter, "Like a puppet on a string." before looking straight at me and saying more loudly, "Whatever." She tutted a little before trotting back down the tunnels laughing manically and hollering_ 'Lets get a move on, slackers!' _but the other men didn't move. Instead, they began conversing, again.

"What shall we do with her? If she dies, the heat will instantly fall onto us."

"We'll..." The second stranger spoke for the first time, and he sounded very worried for their sake.

"We'll bring her with us." The third said with confidence. The other two seemed to study him under a moment before whispering to one and one and walking over to me.

"Upsy daisy!" He spoke again, still sounding all too sure for my liking.

Him and one of the two hoisting me up by my wrists again, obviously not bothering about my condition as they began dragging after the blonde with anger issues. "Let me go..."

"No can do. We can't have you telling the world you were thrown against a wall by a crazed Nobody."

"Xigbar..." The posh one spoke again, his voice withering a hole through my heart. "You've said too much."

"N-no... body?" I studied the word to myself for a moment, feeling a strange familiarity.

"Nothing for you to be concerned about. Just the word you royals class us _normal_ people as."

Xigbar scoffed. "Ha. _Normal._"

"Hush up, the both of you. We have to get her out of here before those scary guys come looking!" The figure who wasn't carrying me spoke up. His voice was slightly high pitched, giving off the instant impression of immaturity. I ignored their conversation and pondered.

"Why... why do you... hate... me?" My words were deep between breathes.

The strange one was the first to speak up. "Why, we don't hate you, we just don't want you-"

"No Demyx, we do hate her." He looked at me with a dark impression. "We hate you, your parents, your heart, your _everything._" I felt a ting hit me deep inside. My heart? What was wrong with my heart?

"I don't understand." That was all I could say.

"It's better that way."

The last thing I heard was the sound of bricks moving and a menacing laughter before I, finally, fell unconscious.

* * *

_Drop a review if you want. :]_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Enlightened Life does NOT own Kingdom Hearts.**

**_Late update... D: Please forgive me, readers. Been way too busy with stuff... x_x _**

**_REVIEW REPLIES:_**

**E Muja EN: **xD Well, Roxas doesn't have much of a clue about anything so I can't answer that one, but Axel... hm... that's a tough one. The plot's a tiny bit complicated... lots of little things. I hope it's clear enough for all readers... to be honest ._.

**Unfortunate Events: **Ah darn it. -fails- Ah, don't die! xD I've been on such a Roxiri rampage recently :D and I blame **White Simplicity**. She ist evil, but I never told you that. :D

**DivineSunSHiNE.**: XD I've been teasing you with this so badly, let's hope it was worth it.

**Thanks to all the reviewers thus far, I really hope this story turns out well.**

**

* * *

  
**

_**Empathy and Apathy**_

**Chapter 3 **

**------------------------------------------------------**

**((( KAIRI POV )))**

Lights. Lots of them. I couldn't see quite where they were coming from; there didn't seem to be an end. They were parted narrowly, allowing a small pathway in the middle where I was stationed. It was like they expected me to walk, but I didn't, all too distracted by the beauty. As they turned and twisted around me in their small particle forms, I couldn't help but notice that every so often a thin string would become visible, binding them all together for a split second or less. Then I also noticed, some of the lights were much darker then the rest but they seemed distant and excluded. The darker lights seemed to try and bind with their vivid counterparts but much to their dismay, often failing. I reached out to touch one of the lights in front, feeling a warmth flowing off it's surface. I instantly felt happy and at ease from the close contact with it but that only put me off.

_I'm not worthy enough to touch something so pure..._

"On the contrary, Kairi, they belong to you in the first place."

Jumping with surprise, I twisted around to see no-one but shurrged it off. Turning back to the lights, my mind took control of itself, absorbing every word the stranger spoke. As my hand reached out once more, small bits of light shot off it's surface in a pattern. Intrigued, I curiously took a look at my palm and gasped. The shape was odd but clear to make out; the outline of a normal heart shape was twisted around something that looked like a.. splintered heart. They were both very close, and tangled together. I stared at it for a few minutes, pushing my hand closer every so often to see it in a bigger form, and funnily enough, I found myself smiling widely. Shaking my head in attempts to stop my wide grinning, I pushed my hand onto the surface of the light. My eyes shot wide as they diluted instantly, throwing all my thoughts violently somewhere else for something to appear. The lights around me exploded into smaller particles, rushing around me in a tight whirlwinds. I held onto the one solid light left tightly, closing my eyes to focus as images were forced upon me.

"_Kairi! Kairi! Look at these!" I looked up from the small sand castle to see my two closest friends gushing over me excitedly._

"_Whats up?" I asked curiously._

"_Look!" Karine urged again, pushing out her hand which contained a fragment of red rock crystal which shone in my face, causing a hard wince. Karine saw my reaction and instantly pushed it back into the shade of her palm. The second blonde stepped forward with her light blue eyes falling hard upon me. I looked at her questionably for a second before she grinned widely and shook the sad expression off. _

"_What is that?" I asked her in particular._

"_Its... crystal.. from the Caverns." She answered abruptly.  
_

_My eyes slit towards her. "Which?"_

_Her nervousness became obvious. "Um... well-"_

"_Girls!!" Her explanation was cut off by Aunt Agatha rushing towards us with a twisted grin. She shot a look towards my nervous friend and then towards all of us. I suddenly felt very uneasy about this. "How about a picture outside those _beautiful _Caverns!" She twisted around in her bag and pulled out a strange camera. It was black and white, hosting many different patterns which I couldn't make out. Feeling Karine push up to me, I dragged all three of us together and forced a smile. The flash ended as quickly as it started and I cursed myself for almost blinking. I began to move away from the two, bringing myself out of the frame but then something stopped me. Looking down carefully, I noticed two hands were gripping tightly onto my shirt. They belonged to my other friend, her face was filled with an impending fear and her entire body was shaking. _

"... Memories?"

"That's right."

I didn't feel shocked by the voice's appearance. I cocked my head slightly over my shoulder to get a look at her making my stomach clench tightly. The voice belonged to a girl about my age. She didn't have much to go by: sky blue eyes, soft blonde hair which perched over her shoulder and ran down her back while soft bangs framing her face. Her outfit consisted of a simple white dress with feathered and designed edges at the hem with matching sandals which were fastened in place with small flower shaped clips. In an instant my head motioned back around to look at the 'memory' intently. I then noticed that the rest of the lights had returned and they were linking up again as before. Tears choked my eyes, letting a burn cross my cheeks, ready to face the waterworks. I knew I had to say it. My voice would have to make do with the pain.

"... N-Namine." My vocals were shattered and weak. This really was too much.

"I... wanted to meet you, at least once." She withered her reply softly. I finally faced her. She was stood completely still with her hands clasped together in front of her as if she was scared, her sheepish smile shocked me a little.

_She's still the same..._

Namine sighed. "You... still remember me then?" She asked sadly.

"What? Of course I do!" I said a little too quickly.

Her face took on a hard expression which scared me. "Why?"

I didn't know how to answer her question in words so I asked, "What kind of question is that?" equalling her coldness, "Do you know any reasons why I shouldn't remember you?"

"Of course I do, seeing as this is your mind and those are your memories." She gestured to the memory I touched. "This is a good memory, but look at that." Her pale hand pointed to a black memory not too far from it and my eyes expanded in shock. They were linked.

"The white light represents a good memory, and the black signifies a corruption."

I looked at her with a horrified look. "Corrupt?" She nodded. "What is that memory? All the other black lights can't seem to connect."

"You don't need to look into back that moment because I know you remember it all too well. Those two were originally one but you separated them in wishes to forget the unpleasant events of that day but its impossible because you couldn't forget _me_."

"So thats..." I started, unable to finish.

"The day I left your life."

I shuddered in pain, remembering bits and pieces of the moment _it_ happened and the coal coloured memory grew closer to the light. "You're not really here... are you?"

Namine seemed offended for a moment. "That's the thing... I am, or my power lets me be here. You're... you're not supposed to be here, Kairi."

"Power?!"

"I'm a witch, with power over your memories and those around you."

"That... makes no sense, you... y-you can't have... have powers!" I struggled for words.

"I can take apart the links and chains in memories and rearrange them, even make new ones." Namine smiled a little and I felt strangely... safe. I looked around the white space filled with the orbs of light. There weren't too many black and relief washed over me.

"Mine are all real." I said proudly with a wide grin.

Namine's mouth made a small 'o' for a moment before confirming. "Yes."

"Why did you want me to forget you?" I instantly asked and regretted it but instead of anger, Namine suddenly moved closer to me and wrapped her arms tightly around my frame. "Namine...?"

"I didn't want you to, and I'm so, so, _so_ happy that you didn't but... it would have been easier if you did forget me. This is so much bigger then you realize."

"This? Namine, I don't understand."

Namine squeezed a little tighter as if not wanting to let go. I returned the embrace.

"Please, Kairi, get away from the people in black cloaks," She leaned close to my ear and added, "At all costs." Her body exploded into the familiar dabs of light around me as everything else fell to black and eventually blurred to a solid surrounding of a cold, white, room. I finally noticed the tears.

**-----------------------------------------ExL----------------------------------------**

**((( ROXAS** **POV )))**

The streets seemed somewhat darker then usual. Running too fast, my feet jumbled into a ball room dance together, moaning when my face kissed the hard, stone ground. This was such a waste of time. It was quite late at night, at least 3 AM. I looked over at Axel, he looked calm as usual. He lived for the night-life even though basically nothing ever happened, he said it was the greatest time for his 'light shows' but I had never seen such a thing before. I looked up a little and soon found myself star gazing. Stars were one of the two things I liked about the night. The first would be, of course, no people were around. Not one_, _singe, _whole_ person. Even bandits and other low-lifes weren't around. It was just me and Axel, wandering around all... night... long. It was a little boring though. I looked away from the stars as we turned the corner but evidently, not quick enough. My head hit Axel's shoulder and skirted backwards before I could catch myself. I hit the ground once again and let out a yip of pain before hearing Axel sigh at my reaction.

I looked at him irritably and asked, "Why'd you stop?"

"Hush up!" He didn't look at me. I'd had enough.

"No!"

Axel finally looked at me and I wished he hadn't. "Axel..?"

"Run. Now." He said the words slowly but the fear in his voice was recognisable. I stayed still for a moment, wondering what was going on but Axel ran ahead. I shook my head fast and jumped up to follow him. As I ran forward, I noticed the section that Axel had gone into was suddenly very blurry while the street I was in was still perfectly clear. I steadied myself and walked slowly to the corner of the street. I placed a hand towards it, resting on a clear surface which was completely solid.

"What?" I asked aloud.

I stared through the barrier, trying to make out people through it's blurred magic. Noticing a flash of red, anger overtook my confusion and my fists started hammering at the obstacle. "Axel!"

"Roxas! Just get the hell out of here! You don't have a weapon!" His reply was very fast and hard to make out. I kept pelting at the invisible wall, focusing my eyes fixed onto the bit of blurred red hair mixed with fire. A ting of realization hit me. He was actually controlling fire? I remembered before we left, Axel didn't take any of his 'pyro necessities' with him, so how was he even developing fire and better yet, bending it to his will? I backed away to think properly when a shooting pain hit me hard in the back. I staggered forwards, noticing a thick splodge of blood below me. It was mine.

_W-what the... hell?_

I scanned over myself, finding that my left leg was already intensely injured and excreting the blood. I gaped at it, wondering why I hadn't felt any pain from _this_ wound. The pain hit my behind again, except this time it was much more airborne and accurate, sending me flying into the barrier too fast. I fell to the floor, gasping at the shock of still feeling no pain from the cut. I clasped my fist to the ground for support but soon the leg gave way.

"Wow..." I stopped at the noticeable 'whooshing' sound in front of me, as well as occasion cracking noises. I looked up slowly to meet the owners and my eyes shot open. The creatures in front of me were greyish-white in colour with an annex somewhat like a hood. A zipper slowly opened across their faces, revealing an malefic grin. I stared blankly at it's forehead for a moment, noticing an insignia in the shape of a heart which looked either damaged or supposed to be that way. Either way I pictured it, it still felt so wrong and so right at the same time. I could feel it boring onto me like a snake but then I noticed... _no eyes._

"Roxas! Get out of there!" Axel's screams knocked my mind back into place. I took a few steps to the side, hoisting my body more securely to the ground with each. I wouldn't be knocked down again. The creatures seemed to allow themselves into a strange shape. They twirled around in an anti-gravity position, seemingly idle. I smiled, unsure of what to make of them. Being the idiot that I am, I began walking speedily through the middle of them, but it didn't take long for one of them to notice me. It all happened so fast. One of the creatures deformed itself, wrapping it's body around me in a stinging tangle. I screamed in pain and it pressed itself tighter around my bound body. My eyes closed, and tried to imagine a better situation then this, anything, but nothing came. I heard the sound of more whooshing and opened my eyes. They opened much wider then I had expected but I just stared at them. The entities had formed bound themselves into a small, fixed, cage. All around me. My mind panicked as they began to move together with me captured, I wasn't sure what to do. A black space began emerging in front of us, eventually making what appeared to be a doorway or portal. My thoughts had now shut down all hope but my body kept kicking and punching my many captives. They wouldn't budge. Was this it...?

_Please... help me..._

I closed my eyes, feeling a warm sensation making itself known to me. I smiled calmly and moved my hand to where it seemed to be resonating from. My pocket? I reached into it and my cheeks burned rapidly. In my hand was the small Keychain which belonged to a certain auburn haired princess. The charm was shining brightly. I gripped it tight, holding the shining beacon close to my chest. To my heart. I felt the creatures around me begin to fade slowly. The light shone even brighter all of a sudden, overwhelming both them and me. A few moments of silence passed when I felt the ground hit my body with a hard '_thump'. _My mind began racing fast as I pushed my limbs back to pull my numb body off the ground. A sensation overwhelmed me as I finally stood up, only to find the dark portal still evading the street. I backed away from it, feeling aroused about what it was... or is for.

"I have to get out of here!" I screamed, thinking no-one could hear me.

"Oh, yes you do, just step right in here." The voice spoke from within the darkness. My head spun with dizziness so I dismissed it but her voice sounded strangely familiar. "Hurry up, boy!"

I narrowed my eyes at it, finally realizing how much I was shaking. "W-why...?"

"Don't ask questions! Stop wasting my time and come here _willingly!_" She raised her voice, causing an echo throughout the portals entrance. I heard a small sigh and assumed she was hiding so taking a leap of faith, I decided to do something stupid.

"No." There was a pause. "I'm not going in there."

"Fine, then I'm going to have to get my hands dirty." Her voice took a malicious turn. Within moments, I found an extended hand twisted around my wrist. It's long nails assaulted into my skin, causing small wounds to form. I winced a little and tried to pull my hand back and out of her grasp. Instead, as I pulled it her full figure emerged from the portal with an insulting smirk. As she moved closer to me, my body began shaking rapidly again, causing her nails to dig into different parts of my wrist. A small amount of blood dropped to the floor; she stared at it and tutted.

"Now, _Key of Destiny, _do you find it acceptable to be dirtying these streets with your blood?"

"Hey, at least it's better then the crap all the people to litter with. Compared to that, this is fresh water." I managed to smile cockily and she frowned a little.

"Oh, how I do wish I could help them..." her grip tightened again, allowing a painful gasp to vacate from my body, "maybe you can help me, _Roxas_?" She slurred my name with an irritated tone. How she knew my name was a mystery, but what wasn't a mystery was me getting out of here. I glared at her in response and felt myself being dragged as she began making her way back to the portal, with me still in her snare.

"Well, I suppose nobody will care," She pulled me out of my confused state, "if you get suddenly taken into my custody."

"What?" I gasped noisily. Why was I so weak _now_? "I... don't think so!"

"Neither do I." An all too familiar voice appeared from behind the malefic kidnapper, catching her off guard enough for my hand to sip free. A strange object seemed to fling towards her at an intense speed. The weapon was circular with many jagged points. It perspired flames from all the points leading back into a centre ring, circling her in a flaming tornado before disappearing back to it's master. Axel. I found myself smiling suddenly, glad that I had been saved but then another one of the creatures from before arrived above me, wrapping it's razer-like arms around my mouth and binding my hands from behind. Gagging me in place.

"Roxas" Axel called desperately. He turned towards her again, placing his weapon in a stance. "What are you doing?! He doesn't even have a weapon-"

"Yet." She finished with a satisfactory smile.

"I'm warning you now, let him go or face an inferno. Your choice." Axel's tone was different. I couldn't tell if it really sounded like that or just the slow, unconscious feeling seeping in. I could tell my legs had stopped fidgeting because of the tiredness. The being wrapped around me seemed to somehow take the hint and stop squeezing tighter on my worn out body, but still allowed me little to none breathing space. I squinted my eyes a little to see Axel; despite the blurriness of my decreasing vision, I could see how angry he was quite clearly. It scared me.

"You really expect me to hand _him_ over? This town as far better off with those of his stature, as well as the rest of you."

Axel's fury surprised even me. Propelling himself forward, he slashed the odd weapon across her chest but she jumped away in defence. He briefly cut her limb; she clutched it tightly with her other hand and attempted not to wince. She glared at him for a moment then turned her attention to me. Defeat twisted itself around her eyes before she turned back towards the portal. Axel's smile cocked itself awkwardly as she brushed past him; signalling for the white creatures to release me. They evaporated around me, softly drifting around the rest of my previously bound body. I fell to the floor for the last time and broke into the air instantly. Shock overtook my arms, bringing them to my neck and jawline, tracing the space which still stung from the monsters grasp. Looking up at Axel, he sighed but didn't move towards me. I noticed he was still clutching the weapon and I shuddered uncomfortably. His eyes had shifted back to my attacker as her mouth opened to speak. She stopped just ahead of her exit.

"This is far from over," she turned to me, her green eyes penetrating my already shook being, "hold onto what freewill you have, for soon, it'll all belong to me." She rotated back around to begin her trek. My fists automatically intertwined with the dirt below me, tightening more and more as she moved back, laughing loudly as if some amazing joke had been told. I couldn't help but think that the 'joke', was me.

**-----------------------------------------ExL----------------------------------------**

**((( KAIRIS** **POV )))**

My first impression of the room was _white._ After all, everything in the small, compact space fit that description just about perfectly. I rolled my eyes at the horrible decorating and walked forward, bashing my leg into the side of a dining-type table. I '_ow_ed' in pain and clutched my leg needingly, using the oversized table as my support. My eyes quickly shot to my hand, and wrist. It was noticeably bruised, giving the tight impression that I may have been tied up or in shackles, though only one them was actually hurt. My head began to twist as I tried to examine my back in the reflection which all the white created. I smiled briefly, not caring much about how or why but my back was healed. For the most part, that is. A few marks and smaller cuts were visible but not enough to cause me any pain, which was something I had had more then enough of. Flickering, my thoughts back to the dream, a frown moved in on my face.

"_Please, Kairi, get away from the people in black cloaks"_

"_At all costs."_

I stiffened a little; wishing that, for once, my dreams could be private or at least happy. Instead, I had strangers or missing friends barging in, claiming that they or I weren't supposed to be there. Fate may not be good to me, but I would never believe in accidental dreams like that. There had to be a reason, and I would trust them.

"You know, I would have never agreed to healing a fool like you if I had a choice so don't take it as a sign of _peace_."

I shuffled hard at the voice. Not even noticing that someone else had entered the room, I titled around slightly to meet their appearance. My azure eyes shot wide as fast as my hand moved to my hair nervously. Larxene stood at the other side of the table, glaring at me with a very monotone sneer. I stepped back in remembrance as all the tunnel's images played ancient dominoes with my mind.

"Oh, having a nice thought?" Larxene asked tenderly, running a finger over the smooth wall.

I scowled. "Shut up..."

She glowered wider at me, insulted, "Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's rude to insult someone in their own home!" Her cloak shimmered in the light as she moved towards me, electricity somehow sparking at her fingertips. Suddenly she stopped and looked at me with clear, fake sympathy. "I suppose your mother would have taught you that simple rule," she laughed, "that is, if you had one!"

I felt as if the liquid stung as it trickled down my face. Standing motionless, Larxene did not move any closer; instead, she laughed herself so hard that her arms were gripped around her covered stomach. I tried to speak up, not having much left to lose. "I don't understand you. We've never met, yet you judge me, beat me, harass me, insult me, and a whole load of other things in such a short timespan. Why?"

Larxene seemed to straighten up. She was neither smirking nor frowning. The thin line that was her mouth seemed to stick together, not showing any emotion; same for the eyes. "That, dear Princess, is something that your dear friend could explain to you, but that's not likely to happen so don't bother asking."

I knew who she was referring to but I couldn't help but ask. "Dear... friend?"

Larxene stiffened a little, obviously having a history with the said person. "Namine Delata, Melenas Heart."

My hand couldn't help but move to my mouth in shock. It had been so long since I had heard Namine's full name. Larxene seemed bored with me and turned to leave. "What is your connection with this girl?" She asked, recoiling a little.

"She's my... best friend." I sniffled the words and scowled at myself for the honesty. Larxene laughed again, this time it frightened me with a knowingly feeling that warped around it. The _evil pixie _had completely left me alone in the room again to stare at the simple, (yet again) white door with a not so simple giant lock attached to it.

**-----------------------------------------ExL----------------------------------------**

The click-clack of her shoes echoed through the halls blankly. Passer-bys didn't seem to care as they parted pass her small frame. They were obviously used to it.

"Things are bad... really bad." She muttered to herself and stopped pacing, staring blankly at the wooden door in front of her as it slowly opened.

"You may come in." A voice called from the inside, beckoning her forward. The man looked up at his visitor and sighed. "You broke the rules, allowing her access to her _own_ mind and _own_ memories. It wasn't a smart move." The small girl moved further into the room, feeling more depressed then usual. The room was simple. A dark, dreary atmosphere with a few chairs, pictures, a table, and a chair where the man addressing her was sat. She fiddled with her hair uneasily but seemed to perk up at the subject, suddenly feeling much braver. "I had to do it, rules or no rules." She stared with her light blue eyes, allowing him to look up and see her determination. "I don't care about the rules."

The man rose quickly and looked down at her, "You're not supposed to _care_ about anything, but I guess that's a privilege of being special," He said softly, putting a hand on her blonde her, "Namine."

Namine giggled at the comment and moved back to fix her hair, "Karius, I can't pretend that I don't have emotions. Everyone else just pretends." She said with a small smile.

"Well, not all of us still have our _others_ walking around." Karius repeated her with a smile of his own before straightening out his outfit. It was a generally simple outfit: a pair of black leather pants, a white shirt, and a thin black belt overlapping it with a strangely shaped buckled. Even his hair seemed to reflect his choice of clothing as it was pitch black. Not to mention he did look pretty young, probably around 18 or 19 years old. He looked at Namine oddly, she hadn't noticed that she was pacing again. "Namine."

She stopped, "Yes?" Her voice asked a little too sternly, taking Karius back. She mumbled a little. "Sorry..."

"Did something happen that I should know about?" The older boy asked, concerned.

"Well... maybe..." Namine's fingers clasped together, ready to recall everything. She began to explain about how Kairi was beaten by Larxene and placed in the _white_ _room_ underground, and about how she had reacted to one particular memory and the confusing light which resonated from it. "I don't understand what that light was, it... it wasn't there last time I looked."

Karius seemed bewildered by the situation as he placed a hang to his chin. "Maybe it wasn't something for you to see, but instead for Kairi to find." He suggested with a shrug.

"But why? It makes no sense for her symbol to be attached to a..." She cut herself off, suddenly feeling dizzy.

"Namine?"

"That boy!" She yelled, shocking Karius briefly. "Of course..."

"Wait? What boy?"

"No time to explain!" Namine shouted as she exited the room.

Karius grasped the table quickly, leaning over to shout to Namine but to no avail. The small blonde was far too gone.

* * *

**OCs so far: _Karine, Agatha, Karius._**

_I'm too tired to **properly** proof-read this, maybe later. xD_

_Drop a review if you like, I worked semi-hard on this chatper._


End file.
